Autism can make a simple 5 minute walk to school difficult. One of my favorite times of the day is walking Curtis to school. For him, it's just the start of a series of unpredictable events that serve no other purpose than to make life difficult. I sympathize with him, yet I also laugh, because he is funny in a constant dry wit/inquisitive sort of way, whether he wants to be or not. As we're leaving the house today:


Curtis: Dad, what is kidnapped?
Dad: Like, when you talk a stranger and they put you in their car and drive away and we don't know where you are.
Curtis: Oh. Can you get teenager-napped?

One day last week we were walking to school on a windy, rainy day and came up to his street cross for school. The crossing guard said " Really nice weather we're having" to which I said, "Yeah, it's beautiful". This is a part of autism that is funny to me and frustrating to Curtis. He just said, "It's not beautiful", and dismissed our comment. I attempted to explain sarcasm for the 100th time. Then he spotted the sign above and burst into the school to start asking people if they were going to the Fall Festival and asking if he had to go. The conversation with the crossing guard reminded me of this link Laura sent me. I don't watch The Big Bang Theory to know if this character has an Autism or Asperberers diagnosis but this seems close to how I would expect Curtis to react someday.

Greg, Dad